Mamata’s Nandigram nominee deserts, Congress’ pick arrested

NANDIGRAM/KOLKATA: The Nandigram nominee of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew her candidature on Friday and cops arrested Congress candidate Milan Pradhan an hour later over allegations dating back to 2007, prompting all non-BJP parties to accuse state agencies of blatantly skewing the Oct 6 bypoll in BJP’s favour.Pradhan Dey’s withdrawal from the fray came a day after she and her husband met CM Suvendu Adhikari at his makeshift office in the PWD tent on the Maidan.The decision left Mamata All India Trinamool Congress, the new name allotted by Election Commission to the Trinamool faction led by the former CM, without a candidate in the bypoll in the CM’s backyard and prompted it to back the Congress nominee.